


Good Idea

by megastarstrike



Series: Mega's Mission to write Mega Cliches [3]
Category: Subnautica (Video Game)
Genre: Acquaintances to Friends to Acquaintances to Lovers, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, best friend of the year berkeley, its a rocky road, so many romance tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-05 21:19:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17926553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/megastarstrike/pseuds/megastarstrike
Summary: Yu was not known for having good ideas. She supposed that was why she took on the task of befriending Keen and why she allowed herself to fall for him.





	Good Idea

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for tackycrows for betaing

“Yu, this is a bad idea,” sure seemed to be something Berkeley was saying a lot lately. Earlier this month, he had said it while pulling her by the collar when she proclaimed she could fix a teacher’s lamp despite having no experience in electrical engineering. Then a week after that, Berkeley had to pull her away from almost getting into a fistfight with someone who said pineapples were the best fruit (which was  _ clearly _ untrue, as that title belonged to strawberries). And just yesterday, he had to interfere with her urge to toss a pencil at the annoying brat behind her in math class kicking her seat. Really, Berkeley was probably the reason she was still alive.

Which is why the moment Yu said, “I want to be friends with Keen!” Berkeley repeated what was, at this point, his catchphrase.

It was early in the morning, some time before their physics class would start. Yu and Berkeley were seated in the back of the class far away from the teacher’s view (because  _ of course) _ , and Keen sat at the front, reviewing flashcards. A few of their other classmates were scattered around the room. The teacher was absent from the room, but the white mug of coffee and freshly printed worksheets on his desk indicated he would return soon.

“Why do you even want to be friends with him?” Berkeley asked with a sigh. “This is a bad idea.”

Yu took a moment to evaluate her decision, something she hasn’t done in a while.

Keen was notorious for being a teacher’s pet, sticker to the rules, and just generally being a pain in the ass if you wanted to have fun. The last memory Yu had of him was last year in chemistry, when he had beaten the teacher to scolding a group of students for messing around during a flame lab. Other students didn’t seem especially keen (ha) on him either, judging by how he always seemed to be by himself in every class. Yet there was still a strong respect for him within the student body, as evidenced by last year in language arts when he had dominated their socratic seminars (Luckily, Yu was never assigned to a seminar with him. She felt that would get old  _ real _ quick).

Yu shrugged. “I mean, he’s smart. And kind of attractive, I guess.”

“Yu, no,” Berkeley said. “He’s almost six feet tall, and you’re a 5’5, tiny Asian girl. He could rip your head off with one glare.”

“Oh, please. I could run to another country before he even touches me.”

“Trust me, this is not a good—Ow!”

Keen turned around towards the noise and raised an eyebrow at the pair. “Please refrain from hitting each other.”

Yu grinned and waved as if she hadn’t just kicked Berkeley under the table. “Good morning, Keen. I love your tie today.”

“Thank you,” Keen said. And with that, he turned his attention back to his set of flashcards.

Yu huffed and leaned back in her chair.

Berkeley rubbed his shin. “Did you really have to do that?”

“Of course. You wouldn’t have shut up otherwise.”

“Yu, this is going to be impossible.”

Yu scoffed and set her feet on her desk. “When has that ever stopped me?”

“Get your feet off the table, Yu,” came Keen’s voice.

“Sorry,” Yu sang, her palms raised as she dropped both her feet and voice. “He didn’t even need to look at me! Look me in the eyes and tell me he doesn’t deserve my respect.”

“Respect is different than friendship,” Berkeley said, “which is why we️’re friends.”

It took a moment for the implications to process. Yu raised her hand, then lowered it upon Keen giving her the side eye.

In her heart, she knew Berkeley was right—befriending someone like Keen was going to be next to impossible. But she’d be damned if she ever admitted he was correct about something, so she smiled again and shot him a peace sign.

 

* * *

It was only after that day Yu realized to what extent Keen was in her classes. Physics, calculus, history, even PE. The only classes they didn’t have together were language arts and other electives (That was fine by Yu. She didn’t need any witnesses to her failures in art).

There was only one problem: the people who made mile runs a competition in PE were assholes, and she may or may not have been one of those people.

“Keep up, Berkeley!” Yu howled, grinning at her best friend, who had fallen behind and was panting and cursing out whoever had coined the term mile. “Aren’t you in cross country?”

“For two weeks!” Berkeley shouted back.

“Take a break. It’s not even halfway through.”

“Ugh.” And with that, Berkeley slowed to a walk. He mustered what little strength he had to send one last middle finger towards Yu before slumping like a corpse.

Yu was too busy making mocking faces at her friend to realize who had caught up to her.

“Yu, concentrate on the mile,” a voice said, “Stop teasing your friends.”

Yu turned towards the voice with a smile. “Oh, good afternoon, Keen. Shall we have a race?”

Keen frowned. “No—”

“Last one to the end’s a loser!” Yu took off like a rocket, weaving her way through confused students and obstacles.

“What? Yu!”

Yu only sped up, knowing the pounding footsteps steadily gaining on her were Keen’s, and being caught would probably mean being scolded by the teacher for ten minutes while he stared menacingly. She couldn’t imagine that would be a nice experience, so she ignored the burning in her chest and continued running.

After who knows how long, Yu could see the finish line in the distance. But the steps behind her had gotten awfully soft…

Yu turned around, only to see Keen had slowed to a jog, and his breathing was labored.

Keen looked up and scowled at her. The scowl softened into a bemused expression when Yu slowed down and matched his pace, jogging alongside him.

“Hey,” Yu said through her gasps for breath, “What’s up?”

Keen’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yu, what are you doing? If you can run ahead, go run ahead.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

“... You are an absurdly difficult person, you know that?”

“So are you.” Before Keen could object, Yu smiled and pointed towards the finish line. “Oh, look, we’re here.”

True to her word, the two crossed the finish line together, then slowing to a walk as they paced around the field. A few other students had beaten them and were either stretching their limbs or lying on the floor, dead to the world.

“That was a respectable race,” Keen said, “but please never do that again. Somebody could have been seriously injured.”

Yu fought the urge to roll her eyes and settled for a congratulatory grin. “Thank you for the race though. I actually felt challenged for once.”

“Yeah, well… It’s not every day one of your classmates drags you into a race out of nowhere.”

“Really? Sounds pretty typical to me.” Yu caught a flash of a familiar idiot faceplanting the ground and sighed. “Excuse me, I have to take care of a friend.”

Keen dismissed her with a nod then walked away, presumably to speak with the teacher about his mile time.

Yu suppressed a grin and nudged her friend with a foot. “Get up, Berkeley, it feels better when you walk around for a bit.”

Berkeley only groaned in response, curling into a ball.

“Alright then. You leave me with no choice.” Yu grabbed Berkeley’s arm with both hands and wrung it around her neck, moving her arm around his waist to support him. She walked, her teeth gritting at the extra pressure.

“Just leave me to die,” Berkeley mumbled.

“Dramatic now, aren’t we?”

The two continued bantering as more and more people trickled through the finish line. Eventually when Berkeley didn’t feel like he was being burned alive, the two sat on the floor cross-legged, their conversation neither the softest nor the loudest.

They failed to notice a curious pair of eyes observing them. 

 

* * *

“You’re at the top of our physics class, and you’re asking  _ me _ for help?”

“Yes.”

“... Fine. Come sit down.”

 

* * *

“Yu, Berkeley, could you two please refrain from hitting each other for one day?”

“Would you prefer I hit you instead?”

“I’d like to see you try.”

And before Yu could stand up, Berkeley grabbed her by the collar and restrained her.

 

* * *

“Mind if I sit here for today?”

Yu smiled, her skin prickling at the blank expression Keen sent her that still somehow managed to be intimidating. She could see Berkeley covering his face with his hands in the corner of her eye, but unfortunately for him, there was no stopping her determination outside of divine intervention.

Keen forced his face into a blank expression. “Sorry, but I would rather keep the silence here. I have a test in my foreign language class today.”

Oh. Keen just called her loud. It was true, but it hurt more than it should have.

“Ah. Okay,” Yu said, her smile still bright but weaker than before. She walked away back towards Berkeley, who was doing a poor job keeping his laughter back. “Laugh all you want, Berkeley. Doesn’t change the fact you need someone to help you with the physics homework, and I’m the only one who actually understands it.”

Berkeley sighed but a smile remained on his face. “Told you so.”

“Huh. You must really like having to do difficult work by yourself—”

“Wait, no—”

In the end, Yu spent her lunch period teaching Berkeley about momentum with plenty of teases injected into the lesson. Still, she couldn’t erase the hurt from the rejection earlier that hour.

She just had to try harder.

 

* * *

 

The seventh time she asks, she finally gets the answer she wants.

“Mind if I sit here for today?” Yu asks, her smile as bright as always. Before Keen could even respond, her eyes sparkled upon seeing a familiar graph on a sheet of paper in front of him. “Are you doing physics homework? I can help you with that.”

“You don’t need to—”

“I want to. I love physics.”

Keen gave her a strange look before sighing and waving her over. “Fine. You may assist me with number four.”

Yu’s heart leaped. She immediately perched herself in the seat next to Keen’s, forgetting to shoot Berkeley an “I told you so” look as she told herself she would through her excitement. She scanned through the word problem before pointing at the work he had already written on the paper. “You converted something wrong. There’s one thousand grams in a kilogram, not one hundred.”

“... That’s seriously what I got wrong?”

“Yes. Try it with the new units.”

Keen’s brow furrowed as he scratched a new series of numbers onto his paper. A few seconds passed before he sighed and leaned back in his chair. “That was… correct. Thank you.”

Yu hummed, tapping her fingers against the table.

Keen observed her for a moment before asking, “What do you want?”

Yu stopped. There was no malice behind the words despite the rough tone he had used behind them. There was no reason he would attempt hiding malice either. It was a genuine question she hadn’t been expecting. “What?”

“What do you want?” Keen asked again. “You must have been seeking me out for a reason, right? Help with homework? Help with managing clubs? What do you—”

“Can I be your friend?”

Silence.

Keen scanned her up and down for any traces of a lie, but Yu held his even stare. Finally, after a tense silence, he sighed. “You have a very strange way of asking for friendship, Yu.”

“So is that a yes?” Yu asked.

“... I suppose so. And stop sending Berkeley that smug smile.”

Yu rolled her eyes, her smile slipping off her face but her heart still fuzzy from the new friendship. “Got it, officer.”

Keen wrinkled his nose. “Officer?”

“Yes, since you want to act like a police officer so much of the time, I figured I should call you one.”

He snorted. “Sure. I suppose that makes sense.”

Their banter stopped in favor of eating lunch together in silence, but Yu couldn’t complain. 

 

* * *

 

Over the next few weeks, Keen’s attitude towards her had become a tad friendlier. Not nice enough to cause people to start questioning if the real Keen had been kidnapped and replaced by an imposter, but still nicer.

“Hey, Yu,” Keen called before tossing a small box to her. “The vending machine gave me an extra. You’re the only other person who I figured could tolerate this drink.”

Yu flipped the drink over. It was strawberry-flavored skim milk, her favorite. “Thank you…?”

Keen dismissed her with the wave of his hand before taking his seat on the opposite side of the classroom.

Yu turned back to meet a mischievous glint in Berkeley’s eyes. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Finally using your brain for once, Berkeley?”

“Doesn’t take anyone with a brain to notice,” Berkeley whispered back. “Did you see it?”

“Cut the cryptic crap and just tell me.”

“Ugh, fine. Keen doesn’t have another carton on him. Look.”

Yu paused before slowly craning her head up, careful not to alert anyone as to where she was staring.

Berkeley was right; there was no sign of another carton of strawberry milk on Keen’s desk, nor was there one placed in the side net of his backpack, where it would logically be placed. The only thing in his hand was a pencil. The pockets in his clothes weren’t big enough to hide a carton of milk.

“He could have just drunk it or put it in his backpack,” Yu said.

“Look at him. Does he seem like the type of person to let a carton of milk explode in his backpack?”

“You promised you would never mention that again.”

“Whatever. The vending machine is right next to the classroom, and there’s no trash cans out there. It’s unlikely he drank it either.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. She hated to admit Berkeley was right, so she didn’t. “What are you implying?”

“I’m implying,” Berkeley said, “that he bought the drink just for you.”

Silence.

Yu chuckled. “Really? Maybe eating that flower back in kindergarten really did mess up your brain.”

“You didn’t have to mention that.”

“Revenge.”

Yu continued sipping at the strawberry milk as Berkeley pointed out various embarrassing crimes of hers that she had committed during recent years.

The stories were bitter, but the beverage was sweet.

 

* * *

 

“Would you like to sit with Berkeley and I at lunch?”

Keen blinked at the question, falling silent as he sunk into thought. “Are you certain those are the actions you want to take?”

Yu scoffed. “I even used proper grammar for you. At least give me a real answer.”

“I have no objections to it,” he said with a shrug.

Yu grinned and plopped herself down in the seat next to his. “Thank you. I get the feeling you and Berkeley will get along well. Though he doesn’t like being told what to do, so you might want to refrain from that. Kind of like a disobedient cat.”

“I heard that,” Berkeley grumbled, taking a seat across from them. He looked up with a blank face. “Hello, Keen. I’m sorry you got roped into Yu’s antics.”

“Good afternoon to you as well, Berkeley,” Keen said, “It’s alright. I don’t think Yu can be handled by just one person.”

“I see this was a terrible idea,” Yu snorted.

The two only shrugged.

 

* * *

**Yu:** I’m bored.

Yu smothered a giggle when Berkeley looked up from his math papers and turned around to give her an unamused stare. Her phone was set down flat behind her pencil case, obscured from the teacher’s view.

**Berkeley:** You’re going to get me into trouble. Stop texting me.  
**Yu:** What else do you suppose I do to sate my boredom?  
**Berkeley:** I don’t know. Bother Keen or something.  
**Yu:** I’m not entirely convinced he even brings his phone to school.  
**Berkeley:** Then skip class. You had no trouble doing that last year.  
**Yu:** And deal with you complaining about me leaving you alone? No thanks.  
**Yu:** I’m just kidding. Be a sweetheart and get my backpack for me.  
**Berkeley:** Fine. Get me biscuit bread on your way home.  
**Berkeley:** And put your phone away. Keen’s looking at

Yu shoved her phone into her pencil case before she could finish reading Berkeley’s text. Without so much as a glance towards Keen, she raised her hand with an innocent smile. “May I use the restroom?”

The teacher dismissed her with a nod. “Take a pass.”

Yu stood up, unhooked the bathroom pass from the hook next to the door, and walked out. After shutting the door, she set the pass on the floor and strolled towards the exit. Her phone buzzed yet again with another message.

**Berkeley:** I hope you know Keen’s pissy right now, and we’re the ones who have to suffer with it.  
**Yu:** Good luck!

 

* * *

 

“I don’t like you.”

Yu only grinned.

She and Keen were seated across from each other in the library. They were supposed to be studying for their history quiz the next day, but Yu couldn’t find it in herself to bother studying content she already knew and decided to twist their study session into a “see how far you can get away with bothering Keen” session.

“Don’t think I don’t see you skipping class,” Keen said, “Not to mention using your phone directly in front of the teacher’s face. Have you ever shown respect to an authority figure in your life?”

“Ah, that’s assuming I have a life.”

“Self-deprecating jokes don’t work on me.”

“How about bad puns?”

“Don’t even try.”

Yu shrugged and leaned back into the plush, green chair. “Alright. Your loss.”

Keen sighed and shook his head. “Are you even passing your classes? At this rate, you’ll need to attend remedial classes during the summer to—”

“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m ranked number four in the school.”

“... I’m sorry, what?”

“I’m in the top four students in the school,” Yu said, inspecting her fingernails. “The classes are boring since I already know the content. My time is better used elsewhere. Why did you think I kept skipping?”

“But… you know what? Okay. I can accept that.” Keen crossed his arms with a huff. “What do you do when you skip? I never see you bragging on social media about where you go.”

Yu rolled her eyes. “Rookie mistake, Keen. You never know who’s going to turn you in, and giving them a shred of evidence is a failure. But if you must know, I work on my science fair project.”

“... You’re skipping work to do more work?”

“Of course.”

Keen stared at her in disbelief before scoffing. “You never fail to surprise me, Yu. Enlighten me on this project of yours.”

“Berkeley and I are working on a robot from scratch. We were supposed to write about what we were inspired by, but honestly, I was inspired by my desire to not fail science fair,” Yu mused. She tilted her head at Keen’s incredulous stare. “What? I’m telling the truth. Would you like an invitation to the competition to ensure it’s real?”

Keen caught himself and cleared his throat, resetting his expression. “I have no objections.”

“Great. Here’s the info.” Yu rummaged through her bag before pulling out a crumpled sheet of paper and holding it out to him. “Apologies for the mess.”

“I know you don’t truly mean that, but thank you for the invitation.” He laid the paper flat on the table before copying the date onto his phone. “I will try my best to come. Now, can we please focus on our history quiz tomorrow?”

“Fine, fine.” Yu hummed to herself as she flipped the flash cards on the table.

Now she had no excuse. She absolutely had to work harder on the project.

 

* * *

“You’re skipping class.”

Fuck.

The familiar voice made Yu’s blood run cold. She slowly turned to the voice with a smile she hoped didn’t betray the dread building up inside her. “Oh, hello, Keen. Nice to see you today.”

Keen raised an eyebrow. “Did you forget I patrol hallways during my free block?”

“Maybe.”

“... Right. Come with me.” Keen reached out to grab her hand, immediately heading towards the principal’s office.

Yu laced their fingers together without a word.

Keen glanced down at their intertwined hands then at her. “Yu, what are you doing?”

“Running away.”

“What?”

Yu yanked her hand out of his grip then took off in the opposite direction, her shoes pounding against the floors.

Keen stared after her, dumbfounded. “Wha—Yu! Get back here!”

Yu sped up after hearing his heavy footsteps. Her heart pounded with every step she took. It felt as if she were in a video game where the building behind her collapsed as she ran. Except she wasn’t in a video game, and she didn’t have multiple lives. She was also certain Keen had worked on improving his stamina after almost losing the mile run race to her.

And all of that translated to an ancient phrase that had served her well in the past:  _ You’re fucked. _

Even so, Yu kept running until she caught sight of a familiar person standing at a water fountain. The hallway she was running towards was the club hallway, a place she was deeply familiar with.

_ There it is! I know what to do. _

“Hey, Berkeley!” Yu called.

Berkeley’s head whipped up from the water fountain, then he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Yu, what—”

“Sorry for this,” Yu said. Before Berkeley could question what was going on, she pushed him to where the hallway intersected with the main auditorium. She continued running even after hearing a crash and a string of curse words.

Fuck. No exits.

Yu ducked into the Science Fair clubroom and shut the door behind her silently. She hid behind a stack of posters (she smiled upon seeing her own name on one of the posters), where the light from the door’s window wouldn’t reach her. It was difficult to steady her breathing.

Silence. Had she lost Keen? Or had Berkeley truly taken one for the team and directed him somewhere else? She remained hidden.

Twenty minutes of silence passed before Yu ducked her head above the posters.

Nobody was in the room with her, and nobody was standing directly in front of the door.

Yu kept herself crouched close to the ground as she moved sideways, careful not to expose herself to light while she checked for people who were beside the door.

No one. Everything was clear.

Yu let out a sigh of relief and stood up. She made a note to pick up an apologetic biscuit bread for Berkeley before opening the door.

Something warm wrapped around her wrist and twirled her around to meet a pair of unamused eyes.

Yu’s smile tilted. “Hello, officer.”

“I must admit that was probably the most exciting chase I’ve had during the entire duration I’ve had this job,” Keen said, “but it could not have been more obvious that you stayed in this hallway. I expected better from you, Yu.”

“What happened to Berkeley?”

“Nice to see you still have an ounce of sympathy for your friends. He tried lying, but he was as transparent as a window.”

“Great. What lie did he come up with?”

“You escaped through the air vents.”

Yu rolled her eyes. Of course Berkeley would say something like that under pressure when she didn’t regularly carry a screwdriver around with her. Who did? “Ah. Seems like him.”

Keen linked hands with her again. “Your time’s up, Yu. We’re taking a visit to the attendance office.”

“Oh, no. My personal hell,” she deadpanned.

“I don’t like how emotionless you sound.”

“I don’t like being caught and turned in by my friend, but here we are.”

Keen’s face fell. He stopped. “I don’t like having to turn my friends in either. Next time, can you please try to avoid my patrol routes?”

Yu snapped her head up. “Next time?”

“You’re a trainwreck. Stopping you is as impossible as stopping one of those.”

“Is that a hint of fondness I hear?”

“No.”

Yu smirked but stayed silent as they walked to the attendance office.

Being caught after a year of being able to escape school whenever she wanted was a blow to her pride. How had she let herself become so careless? Her technique has gotten sloppy.

But Keen’s hand felt nice. She supposed she could handle the consequences.

 

* * *

“You have to stop doing this.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “I think it’s you who needs to stop patrolling the areas you know I have classes in, officer.”

“Can you stop calling me officer?”

“No.”

Keen groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. He took a deep breath before speaking again. “Okay, I’ll bargain with you. This goes against all my morals, but… if you tell me why you keep trying this, I’ll let you go just this once. Deal?”

“What if I don’t know why I’m doing this?” Yu asked. A blatant lie. She knew exactly why she kept allowing herself to get caught. But was escape worth her dignity?

“You seem to have a reason for most things you do. Most of the time, that reason is boredom. Are you just bored during classes?”

“Partially.”

“Are you bored in general?”

“Yes, but that isn’t the primary reason.”

“Then spit it out. Unless you want me to—”

“Your hand feels nice,” Yu blurted. She watched Keen’s face go from pale to pink in a matter of seconds before the full impact of what she had just said registered.

“What are you playing at, Yu?” Keen hissed, his eyes narrowed and posture defensive.

“I’m not playing at all,” Yu said, stabilizing her voice and eventually her stance. “I just like the way your hand feels.”

“You like… the way my hands feel…”

“Yes.”

“That’s really the reason you’ve been skipping so much?”

“Well, it’s my reason for getting caught.”

Keen stared at her incredulously before rubbing his hands in his face in frustration. After a few seconds, he looked back up at her, a bit of pink still painted on his face. His words came out calm and even. “Yu. If you wanted to hold my hand, you could have just asked me. You didn’t need to go through all of… whatever this is.”

Yu blinked. That was a surprise. She had expected him to either roll his eyes or not believe her, not concede to her.

“And what fun would that have been?” Yu scoffed, hoping the blush rising to her own face wasn’t visible. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with the dogs in the dog park.” And with that, she turned and walked towards the exit at the end of the hall.

She held a hand to her cheek, frowning at the heat. When she checked herself in her phone’s camera, her face was tinged a light shade of pink. 

A pair of eyes burned into her back as she left.

 

* * *

 

It was a cold day. Wind roared against her ears as she trudged through the double doors of the school. Those who had decided to suffer the same fate (that is, walking home) were dressed in long, padded jackets and scarves. Those unfortunate enough to have forgotten their winter gear were stuck shivering in the open.

Yu rolled her eyes upon recognizing a familiar figure wearing a short-sleeved shirt and jeans. “Keen! Wait up.”

Keen’s head whipped around, his body relaxing when he recognized her. “Oh. Good afternoon, Yu.”

“Did you forget your coat? Or do you just enjoy freezing to death?” Yu jogged, slowing to a walk when she reached his side.

“It’s not that cold.”

“You’re shivering.”

“That tells you nothing.”

“How far away do you live from the school?”

“Around five kilometers.”

Yu scoffed. “Keen, you’re insane if you think I’ll let you walk home in those clothes.”

“What are you going to do, kidnap me?”

“I just might. You can never tell with me,” Yu said with a wink. She shuffled her jacket off and placed it around his shoulders. “Here. You clearly need it more than I do.”

Keen eyed her thin, long-sleeved shirt and returned the jacket to her shoulders. “No. It’s your jacket.”

“You’re the one stupid enough to wear jeans and short sleeves when it’s this cold outside.” Yu shoved the jacket towards him.

“Ugh, your stubbornness really has no limits, does it? Here, let’s try this.” Keen moved the jacket to cover both of their shoulders, his side pressing against hers.

“... What are you doing?”

“Since I don’t think I’ll get my opinion through your skull, I might as well meet you halfway. And using body heat is a proven survival strategy. Do you have any objections?”

Her body sure did, with the way her heart leaped to her throat and she no longer felt grounded, but she smiled nonetheless. “No. No objections.”

“Good.”

Yu’s head spun when Keen placed his arm over her shoulder. She took the opportunity to nestle closer, her lips melting into a soft smile.

She felt warm.

 

* * *

 

“You wake him up.”

“And die? No thanks. Can’t you nudge him with your foot or something?”

“You’re the one that’s standing closest to him!”

Both Berkeley and Yu froze when Keen’s unconscious body twitched.

Walking into the library and finding Keen’s body slumped over a table was not an uncommon sight. What was rare, however, was him completely asleep on the table with his head over his crossed arms on the open pages of a textbook and a jacket perched on the back of his chair.

Yu tiptoed closer despite Berkeley’s warnings and slowly slipped the jacket off the chair before placing it around his shoulders.

Then Keen leaned sideways, and his head pressed against Yu’s arm.

That was it. Game over. It was illegal to move away from something that cute.

Yu’s heart quickened. She closed her eyes, knowing Berkeley was sending some sort of smug smirk at her.

“Not a word, Berkeley,” she whispered, “Not a word.”

 

* * *

Well, this score was certainly unexpected.

Yu blinked at the red seventy-one scribbled in the top right hand side of her physics test. The emotions swimming inside her passed by too quickly for her to grasp any, leaving her empty and her face blank.

She was at the top of the class, even at the top of the school to some degree. Hell, her science fair project used some foundations of physics. This was the easiest unit. How had she failed so badly?

“Berkeley, look at—” Yu cut herself off and frowned. Berkeley had decided to skip class earlier that period, not wanting to see what he received on the test. Perhaps she should have skipped with him. Then she wouldn’t have had to face the reality that she wasn’t as good at physics as she made herself out to be.

“Yu.”

Yu shut her eyes as a familiar person settled in the seat next to hers. “Good morning, Keen.”

“You look unwell. Is there something wrong?”

Even without her vision, she could detect the  _ “I won’t leave until you tell me what’s wrong” _ vibe outlining his words. She opened her eyes and faced him with a frown. “You tell me.”

“... Are you upset over a physics grade?” Keen asked. “This was the hardest unit. The class average was a fifty-four. I’m certain you got the highest grade out of everyone in the class.”

“Are you sure? The teacher explicitly told us this was the easiest unit.”

“It was this thing called a joke. I’m surprised I managed to catch onto it when you didn’t.”

Yu sighed. “I’ll be fine.”

Keen stayed silent. His eyes stayed locked onto the table before he took her hand in his own and looked her in the eyes. “Yu. This is a multiple choice test with some short answer responses. It says absolutely nothing about your abilities as a scientist.”

“Logically, I know that. But what if it does?”

“Then you haven’t thought about it logically enough.” He sighed. His voice took on a softer tone. “Listen, you’re the one who needs to see yourself for the intelligent person you are. I believe you are, and I’m certain everyone in the nation does as well. That’s all I can say for now, but I’ll be here to support you until you come to your senses.”

Yu stared down at the desk, comforted by the feeling of Keen’s thumb caressing the back of her hand. She was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a liar. If she managed to make Keen of all people believe in her abilities as a scientist, that must mean she had done something right.

“Thank you,” Yu said softly. She tilted her head up and smiled with so much affection she caught Keen’s breath hitching. The world melted away, and all that was left was them.

Keen snapped himself out of the trance first. He gulped and stacked his test on top of hers. “The teacher says we have to turn our tests in. I’ll go do that for you.” He hurried away with the papers in his hands.

Yu frowned. Had she done something wrong?

Well, there was the part where Yu had actually admitted she had an issue with her situation, something she didn’t find herself doing too often. Then Keen had given her some sort of pep talk and called her… smart? Then their hands were linked. That felt nice. But she couldn’t help but want all eyes on her again, to be the center of his attention. That probably wasn’t—

Oh.

Yu took in a sharp breath and silently screamed into her hands.

This probably wasn’t a good time to realize she had fallen for her friend.

 

* * *

 

Over the next week, they didn’t see much of Keen outside of their classes and even then, he was absorbed into his studies. Every minute he wasn’t in school, he was either in the library or home sleeping. His already limited social media presence had fallen to zero.

“You think he’s okay?” Berkeley asked as he drove to the library.

Yu shrugged and unbuckled her seatbelt. “Maybe, maybe not. It’s not any of my business.”

“You’re in the passenger’s seat, put your seatbelt back on.”

“We’re already here.” Yu waited for the car to stop before hopping out with a container in her hands. She glanced back at Berkeley with a raised eyebrow. “Berkeley, you’re not coming with me?”

“After what’s happened these past couple months, I think it’s best you go alone.”

“What are you implying?”

“Nothing. Let me know if you need to be picked up.” He paused. “Who am I kidding? You’re going to end up hitchhiking.”

“You know me so well,” Yu purred. She shot him a thumbs up before walking into the library.

The library’s lights were bright but they were nothing compared to the beams of sunlight shining through the windows. The noise level was alarmingly quiet, so much so it made Yu tense.

Yu frowned upon realizing she could recognize her friend by the amount of textbooks on a table, but she strided towards him anyway and sat across from him.

Keen was a mess, to say the least. His laptop cord was plugged into the outlet next to them but still tangled beyond belief. Papers were inserted into random pages of a textbook, and the poor textbook open right now was littered with highlighter marks and written summarizations of the text. The amount of stationary on the table could rival a supply store’s stock.

Yet even with the bags under his eyes, there was still a certain amount of organization present. The textbooks were arranged in chronological order according to his schedule, and the pens on his table were placed in the order of the rainbow. Keen kept his hair and clothes proper and never failed to keep his posture straight. It was one of the many traits Yu had grown to admire about him.

“Good afternoon, Keen,” Yu said, “I see you’ve been taking impeccable care of yourself.”

“I don’t need your sarcasm right now,” Keen said.

“What are you studying so hard for?”

“Midterms.”

“... Keen, midterms are in two weeks.”

“I can’t fail them.”

“What’s the worst that could happen? Death? You already look like you’re driving yourself to death right now.” Yu held her hand out expectantly.

Keen hesitated before locking hands with her.

“I could tell you all the logical reasons for not taking the midterms too seriously, but that wouldn’t work because you’ve already thought about those reasons and somehow come to the conclusion that you should throw them out the window. And you’re wrong. You’re an idiot, Keen.”

“As are you.”

“Maybe so. But your worth as a person does not hinge on a number on some insignificant test you won’t remember five years from now. You know what does?” Yu smiled and tapped him on the nose. “Your determination. Your drive for success. Your kindness.”

“I’m not kind—”

“You’re kind. You may not be nice, but you’re kind. And that’s what matters, isn’t it?”

Keen stayed silent.

Yu slid the container to his side of the table. “They’re nuts and berries. You know, foods that are supposed to help you study. Berkeley and I arranged them while you were out here killing yourself.” She placed another hand on top of his. “Take care of yourself, or I’ll do it for you. And trust me, you don’t want me to do it for you.”

More silence. The world disappeared around them as they maintained eye contact.

Keen stared, the emotions in his eyes swimming too fast for Yu to recognize. His breathing was slowed. The fingers being held in her hands were completely relaxed. His usual blank face was shattered and revealed a curious, amazed, intrigued Keen, something Yu had only seen rarely during his favorite lessons. And now it was being directed towards her.

Then Keen snapped out of his trance, blinking. His face blanked, then realization sparked in his eyes. “Thank you for caring. It really means a lot more than I can say. But I think you should go now.”

Yu frowned and opened her mouth to protest before he continued.

“I’ll stay for one more hour, then go home. I can send you a text to confirm it.”

It wasn’t the ideal result, but Yu supposed that was as much leeway as she was going to get from him. She stood up from her chair and patted him on the shoulder with a smile. “Alright, then. I’ll keep you to that promise. Goodbye, Keen.”

“Goodbye.”

Yu walked away, his touch lingering in her palms. Her heart pounded as if she had sunken to the bottom of the ocean, and she was certain her face was as red it her face would be breaking the surface of that ocean. Once she stepped outside, she reached into her pocket and dialed a phone number.

“Hello?”

“Berkeley, I’m dying.”

“... Okay? I’ll be there in five. 

 

* * *

 

From then on, all the work that had gone into their friendship deteriorated. Yu would have to start every conversation and when she did, Keen clipped it short with the curt responses he would give to strangers. They no longer talked outside of classes. The discussion they did have during school hours was strictly school related.

It hurt.

“What’s up with you two?” Berkeley asked.

Her poor friend. It must have sucked to have both of your friends suddenly ignoring each other and having neither of them tell you about what happened. She was sympathetic, but not enough to show her insecurities.

Yu shook her head and plastered a grin on her face. “Nothing much. I should be asking that about your history grades.”

“Yu. I know you’re hurt. What’s going on?”

“Just let it go, Berkeley. I’ll tell you later.”

Berkeley gave her a dubious look but allowed it to pass.

Yu continued scribbling on her math packet, unsure of what exactly she was doing.

 

* * *

**Yu:** Are you still coming to the science fair?  
**Keen:** Of course.

It should be a crime how matter-of-factly he texted that.

 

* * *

 

The day of the science fair had arrived. Yu had arrived at the tournament grounds early with her robot in hand and a couple thousand replacement parts in her bag. She set her trifold poster on the table she was assigned before taking a look around the fair.

A few of her classmates had arrived early as well, though she didn’t care too much about them. Nobody from their rival schools had showed up yet (though the entire concept of rival schools was stupid, if you asked her. They were here for scientific breakthroughs, not petty conflict).

People started trickling in as time passed, some stopping by to look at her presentation and others walking past without so much as a glance. To those who stayed, Yu recited her practiced performance with a bright smile on her face, presenting what the robot could do and how it worked.

Then sometime before the event officially started, Berkeley stopped by the table with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“So, random stranger,” Berkeley said, “You mind telling me how the robot works?”

Yu rolled her eyes. “Berkeley, you worked on Alfred with me. Your name is on the poster. You drew the blueprints.”

“Alfred’s still a stupid name, but whatever.”

“Be polite. He can hear you.”

As if on cue, the robot whirred, directing its camera towards Berkeley.

Berkeley held his palms up. “Okay, no. Sorry.” He turned back to Yu. “If you need any help with the presentation, I’ll be here. Just text me.”

“Sure. Though I’m not sure I can win your attention against a super tiny flower you found.”

“For the record, that was one time.”

“Twice, actually.”

“You’re a dick.”

“As are you. Now go. I can handle the presentation on my own.”

Berkeley hesitated. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll take over presentations for the first four hours, then when we have an intermission for lunch, I’ll trust you to take over the next two hours. I’ll be back by then and will be available to help answer any questions.”

“Okay. I’ll be back later.” Berkeley shot her a thumbs up before disappearing into the crowd.

Yu sighed. She readied her station for the next judge who would visit.

Another round of judging passed. The previously boisterous atmosphere had deflated into a distant buzz of mumbles and clinks of coffee cups. Yu’s feet burned, and she found herself balancing on one foot when the pain grew too unbearable.

Finally, the head judge stepped up to a podium and tapped the microphone, silencing the room. He smiled at the audience. “Good afternoon, scientists and loved ones. I am the head judge of this event.”

The other judges stepped onstage as well, introducing themselves one by one.

“As with every year, it was extremely difficult to choose the winners for each event. But after careful evaluation, we have a winner for every category. First up, we have the winners in the biology category.”

Yu clapped along mindlessly as several names popped up on the screen for third place, second place, and first place. The only name she could recognize was her own classmate, Bart Torgal, whose eyes widened at the sight of his name onscreen for first place.

The chemistry category was much the same, except none of her classmates had earned places on the screen. Still, they clapped along politely and cheered for the students who did.

Then came physics and engineering.

Yu’s grip on her poster tightened, and she locked eyes with Berkeley. Time slowed, then the screen switched to a slide announcing the winners.

__ Third place: Miu and Kiibo  
_ Second place: Hatsume  
_ __ First place: Yu and Berkeley

First place. They were first place.

Yu’s breath hitched. Her heart stopped. Then her lips curved into a grin, and she held her hand up for a high-five, which Berkeley returned with fervor.

“That will be all for our winners,” the judge said, “Winners, your awards will be delivered to your school shortly. For now, that will wrap up our 22nd State Science Fair. Thank you all for coming!”

And with a final burst of wild applause, the event ended, and people started dismantling their stations.

“Good work, Berkeley,” Yu said, shoving him to the side. She felt so light it was almost as if she was floating. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”

“You did most of it,” Berkeley said. Before Yu could object, he added, “What do you want to do with the poster?”

“Trash it, of course.”

“And what about the robot?”

“Keep it. What kind of monster do you think I am?”

Berkeley sighed and shook his head, stuffing their binders full of blueprints into his bag.

“They don’t deserve it,” came another, harsher voice.

Berkeley and Yu exchanged the raise of an eyebrow before zoning in on the group of two—a boy and a girl like them—stationed in front of them. There was only one last name on their poster, indicating they were most likely a brother-sister team. It was difficult listening at first, but a good three quarters of the original audience had dispersed outside. The room seemed empty, and every sound was amplified.

“Their project is so stupid,” the sister murmured, “They probably programmed the robot to respond to certain sound wavelengths. That doesn’t mean it’s similar to AI.”

The brother patted her on the back. “We know we won. That’s what matters, right?”

“No.”

Yu almost rolled her eyes. Every year, there was at least one group who couldn’t accept there had been better people, and they were just as annoying every year. Whatever. The best way to deal with jealousy from other competitors was to ignore it.

“It’s not fair!” the girl cried. “We spent so much time on our project, then these two just waltz in with some half-assed project and steal first place. We didn’t even place third.”

Anger boiled in her gut, and her nails dug into her palm. It was one thing to be bitter about not placing in another competition; it was another to accuse anyone in the competition of half-assing a project.

Berkeley set a hand on her shoulder. “Yu, this is not a good idea. It’s not worth it.”

But Berkeley’s words had no calming effect on her now. Yu put on the brightest smile she could and raised her voice. “Excuse me, care to repeat that again?”

Any normal person would have seen the barely concealed anger behind her voice and backed down, but Yu had to hand it to this girl—she had guts. 

“I said you didn’t deserve to win first place,” the girl said back to her, her voice firm and resolute.

The brother’s eyes darted between the two before grabbing his sister’s wrist. “Come on, let’s go. The rest of our team is waiting for us.”

On the other hand, Berkeley stood tall next to Yu in a show of support, taller but somehow slightly less intimidating than the force next to him. He was reluctant to step into conflict, but if Yu was already trapped in a fight, he might as well help out.

Yu gave him a quick nod in acknowledgement before turning back to the sister. “Sorry, but you don’t deserve first place. No one deserves first place. That title is earned, not given.”

“You know what I mean.”

“No, I don’t. Care to enlighten me?”

“You really think your stupid project is better than ours? Fuck you. It’s not worth shit.”

The brother tugged at his sister’s arm more insistently, eyeing someone in the background. “Okay, they get it. We have to go now.”

Yu raised an eyebrow. “If you truly believe a phone that can hold the same amount of storage as a laptop is revolutionary, you are delusional.”

“It is!”

Yu allowed the sister to continue screaming at her, occasionally throwing a glance at her watch and internally rejoicing at how angry her indifference made the other competitor (though that wasn’t the right term. A competitor would actually challenge her). She exchanged a glance with Berkeley, who remained unmoving from his position but whose expression was becoming more puzzled by the minute. She opened her mouth to interrupt her speech, but another person had done so for her.

“Excuse me, what on Earth is going on here?”

Yu squeezed her eyes shut and sharply inhaled at the voice. She forced her face into a smile and opened her eyes before turning in the voice’s direction. “Hello, officer.”

Judging by the paralyzing glare etched onto his face, it didn’t seem like Keen was in the mood to respond to nicknames. All his ire was directed towards the other team. With his height, he towered over the two. To any person other than Yu, he almost would have been intimidating.

“Nothing’s going on,” the girl said, moving her hands behind her back.

Keen’s eyes narrowed. “Oh, really? Because it seems to me like you were insulting another competitor for no reason other than unadulterated jealousy.”

“No, I—”

“I’ve already spoken with your team captain. They will be disciplining you according to your school rules shortly. Now leave.”

“Told you we should’ve just left,” the brother muttered before dragging his sister away. They walked towards a group of people, all of whom glared daggers at them and sent apologetic looks towards Yu and Berkeley.

“I swear, people like that should not be allowed to enter competitions,” Keen grumbled. 

Yu looked him up and down. After deciding he was not a hallucination from too many consecutive all-nighters, her blank face sharpened into a scowl. “I could have handled that on my own, you know.”

“Trust me, I’m very aware. But justice needed to be served to them somehow, and you aren’t the type of person to warn an authority figure of their ineptitude in sportsmanship.”

“What would you know about me?” Yu hissed. Her skin burned from the anger boiling inside. “You’ve ignored me for a good two weeks now, after all.”

Finally, Keen turned to her, and she was on the receiving end of his glare. “It was not ignoring. I had a reason.”

“Then care to enlighten me?”

“No. I shouldn’t have to tell you.” With that, Keen stormed out of the room and into the hallways of an unfamiliar school.

“That utter idiot—Berkeley,” Yu called, “Stay here and guard our project. I’m going to go knock some sense into him.”

“Wait, what?” Berkeley’s eyebrows furrowed. “Yu, don’t—”

It was too late. Yu had already ran out of the room and had her eyes on the target stomping away from her. Her feet pounded against the white tiles of the school, and she took a moment to note how quickly everyone had evacuated the school once the event was finished. Still, nothing could distract her from her original goal.

“Keen!” Yu shouted. “Get over here right now!”

“You don’t have the authority to order anything of me,” Keen hissed back. He turned around to flee but was held in place with Yu’s hand around his wrist.

Yu narrowed her eyes. Her voice was level, calmer than either of them had expected it to be. “Keen. Please explain why you are avoiding me. No need for MLA format, don’t cite any sources. Just tell me.”

Keen’s eyes stared into hers, his anger deflating and being replaced with something more solemn. He gulped. “I can’t.”

“Why not? As far as I know, there’s no one holding a gun to your head and demanding you keep silent. You’re the only obstacle here.”

“You don’t think I know that?”

“If we were to go by your actions, no. This is a major surprise to you.”

“It’s just—Ugh, you are the worst thing that’s ever happened to me.” Keen rounded on her, his eyes blazing. “I was perfectly content being left alone for the rest of my schooling years, then you just had to push your way into my life and ask me to be your friend with that stupid, adorable face, and now I can’t stop thinking about you. When we’re in the same room, my attention gravitates towards you, and when we’re not you’re still somehow the subject of my thoughts. You’re the only person who’s managed to keep me on my toes this long, so I thought it might be safe to get closer to you. But with the way I feel right now, that was clearly not the correct decision.”

Yu’s heart stopped.  _ Did that… Did that mean what I think it means? _

“What? Why?” she asked.

“Please don’t tell me you’re too incompetent to decode the meaning behind what I just said.”

“And what would you say if I was?”

Keen sighed, burying his reddening face into his hands. “Please don’t make me say it.”

Yu pried a hand away from his face and rolled her eyes. “You’re the one who decided to be a coward and run away instead of just telling me how you feel. So tell me now. How do you feel about me?”

“... Yu, you are doing to be the death of me—”

“Say it.”

Keen stared at her before averting his eyes and hanging his head. “I… have romantic feelings for you.”

He liked her back.

_ He liked her back. _

Fireworks exploded in her heart. The moment felt like a ending chord of a song, where all the tension built in the exposition and development of a piece had finally been resolved in one note and all could finally feel relief. But she’d be damned if she made this experience easy for him.

“Wow, way to sound like a robot,” Yu snorted.

“I just confess my feelings to you, and this is how you respond?”

“Absolutely. You knew what you were getting yourself into when you fell for me. But let me tell you this.” Yu leaned forward, her lips quirking into a gentle smile. “I fell for you, too.”

Silence.

“You’re not joking?” he asked.

“We’ve come this far, and you assume I’m lying. At this rate, I’m going to have to prove my feelings to you, aren’t I? Come here.”

Keen raised an eyebrow and stepped back. “What are you doing? I’m not so insecure I don’t believe you.”

Yu tempered her urge to smack him upside the head before saying, “I know. It was just an excuse to kiss you.”

“Oh, I’m aware.”

“Then why did you—”

“Just giving you a taste of your own medicine.”

Yu gave him an unamused glower while Keen faced her with the same smug smirk she had been shooting him since they first met. “You’re mean. Make it up to me.”

The smirk softened into a warm smile. Keen tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear before leaning in and capturing her lips into a gentle kiss.

Yu shut her eyes, allowing herself to melt into the kiss. It wasn’t perfect by any means (it terms of quality, it was actually quite forgettable), but the butterflies dancing on her skin and the warmth of the person she had fallen for pressing against her made her feel lighter than air. And when they separated, her head spun like a gyroscope, and she knew her face was on fire.

“Will you be my girlfriend?” Keen asked, cupping her face with one hand.

Yu smiled and whispered, “Yes.”

 

* * *

 

“For goodness sake, Yu, you’re already dating me. What else do you want?”

Yu grinned, a stark contrast to her glaring, exhausted boyfriend. “I want a kiss.”

Keen stared at her in disbelief, yet there was no surprise present on his face, an expression Yu especially relished. “You’re telling me you made me chase you around the school for ten minutes… for a kiss?”

“Precisely.”

“Even when you know you could just ask me at any time?”

“Yes.”

Keen sighed before leaning forward and pecking her cheek. “There. Can you please stop skipping class now?”

“No can do, officer. Now take me away!” Yu held her hand out expectantly.

Keen held her hand and started an all too familiar route to the attendance office.

In her other hand, Yu took out her buzzing phone and read the text that had appeared.

**Berkeley:** 1\. You never told me what happened with Keen at the science fair, but I don’t think you need to and 2. Be careful with your PDA. Some girl just came back from the bathroom screaming about how she saw you two kiss.  
**Yu:** Any other commentary to add?  
**Berkeley:** Yes  
**Berkeley:** Fucking finally

**Author's Note:**

> fun fact: i wrote this in 2 days. my eyes are screaming for help
> 
> This actually isn't really how I imagine their characters to be? In the middle of writing this, I realized I didn't truly see them in this light, but by then it was too late so. also i just wanted to write a cute romance story. i hope it was pleasant


End file.
